Into the Hills
by TR.Eldridge
Summary: It has been nearly a decade since Klaus Mikaelson left the sleepy town of Mystic Falls behind him. Now, with the sudden passing of his father, he is forced to return. Faced with the consequences of his departure long ago, Klaus is forced to come to terms with old, long forgotten wounds and the scars they leave behind. AU/AH Klaus/Hayley
1. Chapter 1

It had been nearly ten years since Niklaus had parted ways with his sleepy little hometown of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Nothing had changed much since he'd left, he noted as he parked his Chevy pickup outside the town's only gas station to fuel up after his long, twelve-hour drive. The small building, nestled in the middle of the town and connected on the left to the Mystic Grill, was decorated to the nines for the coming autumnal season. Pumpkins of differing shapes and sizes lined the outside of the building, and large cardboard boxes of multicolored fall fruits crowded the empty parking lot. The air was crisp and refreshing against his face; a lot different from the smog of the city, he thought. Tucking the keys into his pocket, Klaus walked into the store, nodding a hello to the clerk, and set himself to browsing the aisles in search of anything that caught his eye. If Klaus were being completely honest with himself, he'd know that what he was truly doing was avoiding. Avoiding the only thing that had brought him back to Mystic Falls.

The prodigal son, as many had once called him, Klaus had left home after graduating high school for a life that he thought would be less mundane, a life he didn't believe was "settling". He'd packed up his belongings into the back of his pickup, left his girlfriend of three years, said goodbye to friends he'd known his whole life, and left. In his all-knowing eighteen-year old mind, a life spent in the small town of Mystic Falls would have been worse than death.

His parents, seemingly the most injured by his abrupt departure, had ultimately divorced shortly after he'd left and though they never made mention that it was any fault of his, it became a hushed subject that was pushed under the rug when he'd ask about it. He'd not spoken to them consistently in years, only speaking occasionally with his mother on holidays and on some odd weekend that she'd call. The last lengthy phone call he'd had with his mother had started and ended last week, on a blistering, heatwave of a Friday. His father, Mikael, barely over sixty, had died suddenly of a heart attack. Klaus wasn't looking forward the funeral. The suit he was wearing was too hot and he looked too much like a lawyer for his taste. The twelve-hour hour drive to Mystic Falls had done a number on his nerves and road rage.

He knew perhaps that it may have been the shock of the sudden call, but Klaus found that he wasn't upset over the news like he thought he should be. After all, growing up in the Mikaelson household hadn't been a breeze for him or his siblings. He and his father could never see eye-to-eye on anything, Mikael preferring the company of Elijah or Finn, his oldest brothers. He shook his head of the repressed childhood memories and handed over the exact change for fuel and a Coke before exiting.

He could see the funeral home from the parking lot of the gas station. SUVs and outdated cars filled the parking lot, overflowing into the neighbor's driveway. Klaus sighed heavily and started his truck. Finding a space for himself wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be. Roped off at the furthest end of the lot was a space marked 'Immediate Family Only'. Spotting a convoy of at least five vehicles among those roped off, Klaus groaned at the thought of seeing his family again. Though he'd missed his mother, his siblings were another matter entirely.

As he'd expected, once he pushed the double doors to the funeral home open, the strong stench of cheap, bleach laden cleaning supplies invaded his senses. Bodies and tear streaked faces turned immediately at the sound, their jaws dropping at the sight of him, and expressions ranging from disbelief to downright disgust. Standing from the crowd of onlookers, his mother's eyes caught his. In her youth, Klaus thought, his mother would have been a stone-cold heartbreaker with her high cheeks bones and deep set amber eyes. The black sweater dress she wore illuminated her ivory skin and silver-blond hair. Her face lit with a small smile as she passed by the stunned faces to wrap her lean arms around his neck.

"It's good to finally see you, Niklaus," she said once she'd released him. She had aged much since he'd seen her last. Though she still look relatively the same, her eyes made all the difference; their shine that had been so valued in his youth was now gone.

"You too, mother," he replied with a smile.

Taking his hand in her own, Esther led him to the front of the room, sitting them down in the very first pew alongside his brothers and sister. They all wore looks of mourning; Rebekah had dressed in what Klaus was sure to be the most expensive piece of clothing she owned; Elijah and Finn sat side-by-side as always; and Kol, dressed in a black suit, hadn't bothered to wipe the lipstick from his mouth from whatever woman he'd met before the viewing.

Klaus sat idly as person after person took their turn at the podium; the pastor, his father's co-workers, family friends; everyone that had only seen his father's good side stepped forward to speak of what a great man he was and how he'd loved and valued his children above all things.

_A crock of crap_, Klaus though, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. He remember, no matter how hard he tried to forget, the words his father had said to him the day he'd decided to leave town. Mikael had stood red-faced and fuming on the front step, cursing and belittling his son for wanted to leave his family. Truthfully, he'd never done it to harm anyone, he'd only wanted to make his own way in life where no one knew what legacy his last name held. _"If you set foot outside of this town, boy, I'll see to it that you are never welcomed back_," his father had said to him as he'd slid into his truck, ready to go. Klaus couldn't understand what any of his "friends" saw in him that was good. 

Once everyone had spoken and given their condolences to the family, the congregation loaded into their vehicles, bound for the Mikaelson Family Cemetery. Without letting go of his hand, Esther pulled him into her car and drove them in silence up the winding road. They didn't speak while she drove, nor did they speak at any point during the funeral or after. It hadn't last long; the pastor of Mystic Falls's only church had said a prayer over the casket before reading Psalms 23 aloud as they lowered his father into the ground, and that was it. People walked up to them, hugged them, told them how sorry they were, and that was it.

Rebekah had only looked at him once before she followed their brothers back to the line of cars they'd all driven in. Klaus knew that his leaving town had caused a rift between him and his family, but he hadn't expected it to be that deep.

"I'm glad you came back, Niklaus," his mother said finally once they'd driven back to the funeral home where Klaus's truck was still parked. "Your father would have liked that you came."

He knew it was a lie, she knew as well as he did what his father thought of him, but he said nothing about it, only smiled at the aging woman. "Me too," he said simply.

The wind grew colder around them forcing Klaus to pull on his leather, fleece-lined jacket. He watched as his mother stuffed her hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out a carton of cigarettes and a lighter. She lit it easily in the blustering wind and exhaled a puff of smoke.

"When did you start smoking?" he asked her, fanning the fumes away from him with his hand.

She eyed him curiously and took a long drag on the cigarette. "It's been, oh I don't know, about five or six years, I think," she said, exhaling again. "Are you going to be in town long? Becky said she might stay for a day or two. Your brothers all have their own lives to attend to, so they're out of the question."

Klaus mulled over the possibility, not liking the sound of it or the feeling of dread it caused in his chest. Esther didn't wait for his answer. "Well," she began, rubbing the cigarette into the ground with the toe of her black pump. "If you decide to, come by the house later on. Oh!," she turned suddenly toward him, her hand still on the door handle, "have you seen Hayley yet?"

_Hayley_. He hadn't heard that name in so long. The sound of it was almost foreign to his ears. Hay-lee. The name of the very woman who'd held his heart for the better part of his adolescence. His heart thudded as he turned the name over and over in his mind, aching to see her once more. His hands tingled with the remembered sensation of her smooth, olive skin against them. Although their separation had been his doing, he had grieved for her for years afterward. Everyone was her, but no one was; he'd tried every way in the world to rid himself of her scent and the sound of her laughter, but nothing had worked. It was then that he'd thrown himself deep into his work, preferring the ache of his hands and back to that of his heart.

He shook his head finally, both in answer to her question and to dissipate the flood of long forgotten memories that was ebbing into his consciousness.

"Okay then," Esther said, sliding into her SUV. "If you do, tell her that I have some things at the house for her."

"If I see her, I'll tell her," he said before she sped away.

Sitting in his pickup, Klaus mulled over his options: firstly, he wasn't expected back at work for quite some time, choosing to take vacation days for his trip down here; and secondly, it really wouldn't hurt to spend a couple of days relaxing in Mystic Falls, would it? Resolved to his final decision, Klaus put his truck in drive and headed down the familiar street that held his childhood home. 

The road wasn't a winding one and the journey wasn't long, and as he parked in the large driveway, he'd realized just how much things had really changed in the last ten years. The house had been repainted, both levels, and a large wrap-around porch had been added to the front of the house, topped with a balcony that jutted out from a set of french doors. His mother's car wasn't in the driveway, but he parked anyway, figuring she'd arrive any minute. He noticed also that Rebekah's vehicle wasn't here either and a weight lifted off his chest a little. Though he loved his sister, he couldn't handle her ardent, love-filled drama over who the next love of her life was. It was all too much drama for him. He took the steps two at a time and pulled his keys from his pockets, sifting through them to find his old house key. Finally finding it, he pushed it into the doorknob and turned.

Something else that has changed, he groaned and stuffed the keys back into his pocket. With nowhere else to go and no way inside without his mother, Klaus sunk into one of Esther's treasured wicker lounge chairs and crossed his ankles over the adjoining ottoman. Breathing deeply, he leaned back in the chair, relaxing. The drive into Mystic Falls had taken all night and half of the morning; his back ached, his legs ached, and, unfortunately, his posterior was incredibly sore from his constant seated position.

His relaxation, however, did not last long. Frowning, he pulled the vibrating cell phone from his pocket and answered.

"Hello," he said leaning back into the lounge chair and shutting his eyes.

"Hey babe!" came the other, far more excited voice of his girlfriend, Jennifer. "Just calling to check in. How did everything go?"

Klaus sighed, irritated. "It was a funeral, Jen, how do you think it went?"

Ignoring his attitude, as always, Jennifer dived headlong into a recounting of her day; shopping, shopping, and more shopping! On the verge of slipping into a coma, Klaus decided to stop her.

"I'm going to have to stay longer than expected," he said, pinching the bridge if his nose in frustration at the sound of her whine.

"What! But you promise, Nicky!"

"I know, but some things have come up," he groaned. "Mother wants someone to stay for a couple of days and everyone else is too busy."

"You promise you'll come home then?" She sighed loudly in his ear.

"Yeah, babe, I promise I'll be home by Saturday," he said as he watched a red Jeep pull in behind his truck. "Jen, someone's here. I'm going to have to go, okay?"

"Okay, Nick," she said. "Call me later, will you?"

Agreeing to call her back soon, he ended the call quickly and stood from the lounge chair, peering into the lightly tinted windows for a glimpse of the driver. From the movements inside, Klaus guessed that it was probably a woman; she'd pulled down the visor once, then twice and was now fluffing her hair, but he couldn't make out her features through the glass. His curiosity piqued, he pushed the cellphone back into his pocket and leaned against the painted white porch post. The door opened and his mouth followed suit to greet them, only to be halted mid syllable.

Exiting the truck in a floral blouse and tan sweater, with long, jean clad legs and tall brown boots was a woman he'd never thought he'd see again. Her hair was longer now and the color was different -a caramel chocolate that flowed down to her elbows- but every curve of her body was the same as it had been ten years ago, if not better. Her pink, pouty lips smiled up at him as her long, nimble fingers pushed at the bridge of her black-rimmed glasses.

"Hey there, stranger," she said lightly, hopping up the steps.

He watched her tuck a large chuck of chocolate behind her ear and swallowed thickly. "Hayley," he said, tasting the name on his tongue. It slipped like melted butter through his lips, pulling the very breath from his lungs with it. Her arms wrapped around his neck easily, familiarly, and her lips grazed his stubbled cheek.

"I heard you were back in town," she said, squeezing his lightly. "I'm sorry about your dad. I know you guys had your differences, but he was still your dad."

She pulled away then and he fought the urge inside him to grab her by the arms and pull her back into him. Instead, he decided on busying his hands with the chipping white paint on the porch railing. "Yeah, I guess so," was all he could manage as he watched her swift anxiously from foot to foot.

Realization graced Hayley's beautiful face. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Is Esther here?"

Klaus shrugged as he traced the line of her neck with his eyes, his mouth aching to kiss it. "I'm not sure where my wayward mother has gone," he said, pulling himself from the amorous thoughts. "I thought she'd be here before I made it, but it seems that, as always, I am wrong. I tried my old key," he looked between her and the large wooden door, "but I guess a person must change their locks sometime within ten years."

"Yeah," Hayley said. Her laugh was uneasy and Klaus could feel her anxiety. Was it really so uncomfortable to be around him? She'd seemed so at ease when she'd first arrived and had hugged him to her; what had changed? "Well, when she gets here, can you tell her that I stopped by?"

She was turning to leave, but Klaus's hand stopped her, resting gently against her shoulder. "Wait," he said, smiling. "Do you have to leave so soon? You just got here? I'm sure mother will be here any minute now."

Hayley frowned again, the lines deep around her mouth. "I really can't, Nick," she said, using the nickname she'd always used when she was being serious.

Klaus's hand dropped to take hold of hers. "Come on, Hayley," he pleaded, unsure of why he wanted her to stay so badly. Something deep inside of him didn't want to let her go.

Pulling her hand away, Hayley's expression changed from its lightness earlier to a darker, more agitated one. "Klaus," she warned. "I really have to go. I've got pick Annie up from school."

His eyebrows pulled together sharply as she turned back toward the steps. "Wait," he said, stopping her once more. "Who's Annie?"

Hayley shifted nervously and bit her lower lip. "She's my daughter," she said finally.

"Your daughter?" he said, shock evident on his face. "You're married?"

Jealousy rose up in him, but was calmed as his eyes traveled to her bare left hand. "Lord no," she said, chuckling. "It's just Annie and me now. I was though, but that's a story for a different time. I really do need to go," she pulled the sleeve of her sweater back to look at the watch on her wrist, "Oh my!"

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry, Klaus," she said, her hand on her forehead. "I'm going to be late if I don't go now. It was great seeing you! Don't forget to tell your mom that I stopped by!"

She glided down the steps easily, the tail of her sweater flapping in her descent. Klaus's mind was racing at her revelation. A daughter? Something flickered in his mind; a brief memory of their last night together, but Klaus shook his head at the possibility and followed after her. As gentlemanly as he could manage, he opened the door for her with a smile. She slid in with a soft 'thank you' and he closed the door.

"Hey, wait," he said through the now rolled down window. "Before you go, would it be okay if I stopped by later? You still live on Watercress, right?"

The question, thought purely innocent in its intent, caused a flash of anxiety to cross Hayley's face. It quickly passed and she nodded, clicked her seatbelt over her. "Yeah, still living at my dad's."

Klaus smiled crookedly at her. "Would it be okay then?"

Casting him an easy side glance, Hayley finally submitted. "Yeah, that'll be fine," she said, turning the key and starting the truck. "Come by around 6. I'll have some dinner ready."


	2. Chapter 2

The Marshall home rose into Klaus's view, familiar with its green shutters and creamy white siding. The house was small from his remembrance, containing only three small bedrooms, a large kitchen and adjoining living area. In his high school years, Klaus had spent many days –_and great nights_, he thought – in that house. He parked his truck in the driveway alongside the Jeep Hayley had driven to his mother's house. Toys were scattered outside the house in the front lawn, a bike leaning against the railing of their small porch, and the screen door that still hadn't been fixed was flapping in the breeze, banging against the front door.

Taking a deep breath, he exited the truck and plunged his tremoring hands into the pockets of his jeans. Luckily, his mother had returned shortly after Hayley had left and he been able to find some of his old clothes in the attic, though they fit kind of snug. He stepped easily onto the porch, checking his watch for the time. _5:57._ She'd said six, but suddenly Klaus wondered if the invitation had been sincere. Perhaps she'd only said it because that was what you were supposed to say to someone you hadn't seen in years and someone you knew wouldn't stay long enough in town to follow up on the offer? Klaus wasn't sure, but he could feel his hands beginning to sweat against the lining of his pockets.

Before he'd built up enough courage to ring the doorbell, Hayley's face was in front of his, her long, slender arm pushing against the screen door. She was dressed the same as earlier, the only difference now was the loose bun she wore atop her head instead of the free-flowing mane of hair she'd worn when he saw her last. Her glasses were nowhere to be seen, though that was no issue to Klaus; she was beautiful to him no matter what she wore. The thought suddenly struck him that perhaps he'd made a mistake by leaving her here in Paisley. By the looks of things, however, she'd done quite well for herself. Previous marriage, notwithstanding.

"I didn't think you'd show," she said, her face flushed. She backpedalled suddenly and smacked the palm of her free hand against her forehead. "I am so sorry," she said, shaking her head, loosing bits of hair from her bun. "I didn't mean to say that out loud."

Klaus laughed easily. "You never were one for tact, were you?"

His laughter was echoed from her elegant throat. "I guess not. Please come in." She pulled the door open wide, giving him enough room to step around the shoes and backpacks that lay scattered by the front door.

"Sorry that I haven't had a chance to clean up," she said, bending down to neatly align shoes and to pick up the backpacks. She slung one of her shoulder and smiled. "You know were the kitchen is. I'm gonna go put these in Annie's room and I'll be back in a jiffy."

Klaus watched her walk down the hallway and turn left into a bedroom that he knew all too well. Suppressing a smile at the memories that flowered in his mind, he made his way into the kitchen. Everything was the way he remembered it to be; cabinets lined the walls and they'd fixed the spot on the counter that he'd broken years ago. The small dining table that sat in the middle of the room was decorated with a floral table cloth with an open pizza box on top of it. Klaus laughed easily to himself at the thought of Hayley trying to cook. Though it had been ten years since they'd been together, he had a feeling that her cooking skills hadn't improved all that much, but it was nothing that couldn't be solved with a quick call to the Mystic Grill for takeout.

Hayley reappeared behind him and smiled. Klaus could see the faint line of a wrinkle in between her eyebrows and he knew that that meant she was anxious about something. He felt compelled to ask. "So, what's going on?" He said. "Where's the kid?"

"Oh," she said and Klaus could see a slight flinch. "_The kid_ is in her room."

"Is she going to join us?" Klaus gestured to the delicious pizza on the table and suppressed a laugh. Hayley's eyes dropped from his and she wrung her hands together nervously.

She shook her head. "No," she said as she crossed the room and grabbed two drinks from the refrigerator. Klaus watched as she sat them on the table and tucked some fallen chunks of hair behind her ear. "She was supposed to go to her dad's tonight, but he hasn't shown up yet. I can't get her to come out of her room."

Klaus felt a pang in his chest. "You never told me who it was you ended up marrying," he noted as he took a seat at the table. Hayley followed suit and pushed a can of Coke toward him, along with a plate.

"You never asked," she said as she opened the box and placed a slice on her plate. "It was Jackson. We got married about two years after graduation, I think, and then Annie was born a couple years after that."

So, she hadn't waited long before finding someone else. Klaus felt the beginnings of jealousy rise up inside and fought hard to keep from saying anything. This was their first reunion after ten years, he didn't want to make her hate him more than she must already after he left her. "What happened between you two?" He asked.

Hayley sat down the pizza she was about to bite into and folded her hands on the table. "Let's get one thing clear, okay?" She began. "You don't get to ask questions like that, alright? You left me here for ten years, no calls, no emails, nothing, and then you show up here and expect me to be your best friend and tell you all my secrets, but it doesn't work that way, Klaus. We are merely two people who knew each other once and if that doesn't sit well with you, then I'm sorry, but that's all I can do for you."

Klaus was taken aback by her abruptness, but he wasn't about to tuck his tail and run from her. "I just asked a simple question, Hayley," he fired back at her. "Jackson, really? That was your rebound? And you had a kid with that piece of ..."

"Just stop it, right now!" Hayley cried as she pushed herself from the chair. A small, curly-haired girl ran into the kitchen in a pink nightgown with a terrified look on her face.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" The little girl cried out as she clung to her mother's leg. Hayley bent down a picked her daughter up, cradling her.

"Nothing's wrong, Sweetie," she cooed, smoothing down the little girl's unruly hair. "Everything's alright. Mommy's friend was just leaving."

Klaus could have kicked himself. He was always ruining something. His stupid jealousy had gotten in the way of them having a nice dinner. Surrendering, he pushed himself from the chair and made his way for the door. "I'm sorry, Hayley," he said.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you?" She said as she opened the door and gestured for him to go. "Have a safe trip back to wherever it is you live now."

Klaus walked out into the cold of the night and turned to say something else, but the door was already shut. How could he have been so stupid to screw this up again? When he had seen her on his mother's porch, everything had come rushing back to him. He still loved her, but that didn't matter now. He was with Jess and Hayley had completely moved on from him. Klaus sighed as she entered his truck. Perhaps she was better off without him. She looked happy with Annie and, much to his chagrin, it seemed that, even though they weren't together anymore, she had found someone else after him to make her happy as well.

Klaus started the truck and backed out of the driveway, heading for his mom's house. He would stay the night with her, but in the morning he was going back to him apartment. Far away from the longing he had felt with Hayley near him. He needed to go and fast.


End file.
